Review of UFC 68: The Uprising

Introduction

UFC 68: The Uprising was so-named because of the returns to the Octagon, under different circumstances, of three of its top stars. Former champions Matt Hughes (Welterweight) and Rich Franklin (Middleweight) were returning after devastating title losses to Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva respectively. Randy "The Natural" Couture was making a comeback to competition one year after retiring following a Light-Heavyweight defeat to Chuck Liddell. Couture came straight back into the firing line, so to speak, challenging Heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia.

UFC 68 was held on 3rd March 2007, from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL, and is very good for a DVD of this genre. The arena is well lit, and the production values are high without being overbearing. In terms of the DVD transfer, the event looks pristine, with no digital artefacts noticeable whatsoever.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and is also very good. The sounds of the show are all well mixed, so neither commentary nor in-Octagon action stomps over the other. Commentary is provided by Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan, who make an excellent team.

There are also 2.0 tracks available in German, Dutch, and French, with subtitles also available in German and Dutch.

Features

The sole extra here is a twenty-five minute featurette on the main event of Tim Sylvia vs Randy Couture. The emphasis is more on the latter, since this was his first bout back, after more than one year of MMA inactivity. Accompanied by some great archive footage, Couture talks us through his biggest matches, before describing why he wanted to return to competition. Other UFC personalities also provide testimonies to "The Natural".

We get to take a look at both men in the hours before the fight, and it is very interesting to see each as they try to relax before the event. But perhaps the highlight of the feature is the behind-the-scenes look post-fight, which shows the devastation of loss for one, and the jubilation of victory for another.

Conclusion

UFC 68: The Uprising began with a Lightweight bout between Jamie Varner and Jason Gilliam. It was a short, one-sided fight that was more notable for its post-match celebrations. Things took a more sporting turn in the next contest, as Gleison Tibau and Jason Dent had a good ground-based encounter, which was a pleasure to view, since not all grounded bouts are worth one`s time.

Moving up to Welterweight, promising fighter Jon Fitch tangled with Luigi Fioravanti, in another bout which focused more on wrestling/ju-jitsu than striking. Once again, however, it was an attack-minded affair.

The proceeding Light-Heavyweight bout was at times exciting to watch, but contained some of the worst striking I have ever seen in the Octagon. Perhaps this was down to the fact that both Rex Holman and Matt Hamill (who, interestingly, is deaf) were amateur wrestlers before they were mixed martial artists, but their lack of skill in the boxing department was all too evident.

Continuing the surprising ground-style theme, Renato "Babalu" Sobral squared off against Jason Lambert in a match which also contained some excellent striking exchanges. As a direct result of that, the finish was quite spectacular.

Matt Hughes and Chris Lytle then played defensive in the next encounter, although much of that was down to the tactics of Lytle. Sadly, that meant that there wasn`t a great deal to enjoy in their match. Like Hughes, Rich Franklin was returning from a devastating loss in his previous bout, but with opponent Jason MacDonald much more willing to exchange than Lytle, their contest was much more pleasing on the eye.

The penultimate bout saw Middleweights Martin Kampfmann and Drew McFedries exchange some hefty blows, but also showcase a beautiful submission-hold finish.

Then, it was time for the main event, with Randy Couture challenging Tim Sylvia for the UFC Heavyweight Title. The match itself was far from outstanding, but it had an incredible main event feel which even a company as popular the UFC will find difficult to replicate. Many long-time UFC commentators have suggested that the crowd was more emotionally involved in this bout than any other in the company`s history, and that is a feeling that certainly comes across on this DVD. For that, it is a must-see contest.

Overall, UFC 68 was a somewhat lacklustre show in terms of fight entertainment, but it was probably the most momentous in MMA history. That was down entirely to the main event bout, which alone may be good enough reason to seek out this title.

Whilst recommending it to established fans, my inclination is to steer newer fans to other DVDs, such as UFC 60: Hughes vs Gracie, or UFC 63: Hughes vs Penn. To see what the sport is about, those are much better examples.